


we sleep anywhere we lie

by giveupgetdown



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Gen, Gladys and Jellybean never left, Homeless Jughead, The Jones family lives in an actual house
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-25 12:28:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9820592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/giveupgetdown/pseuds/giveupgetdown
Summary: Home is always going to be a foreign concept to Jughead if he keeps fighting it.





	

The south side of Riverdale had a notorious reputation. Whether the Serpents had made it their home or not it would still be filled with low income housing and crime. It’s a dare among the jocks at the high school. _I bet you’re too chicken to go to the gas station on 28 th street and buy us snacks_, they’d taunt.

Jughead walks past the gas station with no fear. He drinks the last of the soda that Pop had given him in a to-go cup and continues on into the neighborhood. It’s past two in the morning but he can hear the sounds of motorcycle engines and drunken laughter. He continues down the street until he reaches a one story house behind a chain link fence and a lawn that’s overgrown and in desperate need of a mowing. He can hear whispers as he opens the fence door and turns around to see a couple of men hanging out in front of the house across the street. They have their Southside Serpent jackets on and they glare at him as they smoke their cigarettes. Jughead thinks it’s all very cliché. He ignores them, walking up to the house in front of him and digging into his pocket.

The key he pulls out is cold. It’s been weeks since he’s last used it.

The door opens with a slight squeak and the darkness of the house welcomes him with the smell of smoke, leftover pizza, and alcohol. Jughead passes someone asleep in the living room and he silently makes his way to the hallway. He walks past the first door on the right and goes straight to the room at the end of the hallway where a dim light shines through from under the door. The room hasn’t changed. The nightlight in the room shows Jughead that the superhero posters from when he was a kid and reading comics in a tree house with Archie are still on the walls. They are mixed in with Disney pictures; the house is only a two bedroom house. The bed against the wall is a full size bed and too big for the small body that occupies it. She’s in a peaceful sleep; her body rising and falling gently as she breathes, and Jughead hopes that he doesn’t wake her as he takes his shoes off and climbs into bed next to her.

Jellybean moves slightly as Jughead gets comfy but doesn’t wake. He gives her a soft kiss on her forehead and drifts off to sleep.

 

 Jughead wakes to the six year old staring at him. He lets out a groan and pulls the covers up over his head and tries to go back to sleep. Jellybean pokes at his side. He waits for her to poke him a couple more time before he sits up with a playful growl and pulls Jelly closer to him as he gets her back with tickles. She giggles and Jughead stops to let her calm down.

“Are you staying for fruit loops?” She asks.

“You’re a fruit loop,” Jughead mutters and Jelly giggles again.

“Please stay for fruit loops!” Jelly begs, looking up at him with her wide puppy dog eyes. Jughead knows he’s too weak for those eyes. He can’t refuse.

“Why don’t you get a bowl and bring it back here for us to share,” he tells her, and she smiles and climbs over him to get off the bed.

He hears the sounds of the cabinet opening and cereal being poured. A deep voice says something to Jelly but he can’t make out the words. She returns a few minutes later, walking slowly and trying to keep the milk from spilling out of the bowl. She hands it to Jughead and takes a bite from her spoon.

“Was that dad in the kitchen?” He questions.

“No,” Jelly says, milk running down her chin. “That was Bobby.”

“Who is Bobby?”

“Daddy’s friend,” Jelly responds, wiping the milk off her chin with the sleeve of her shirt.

“What did he want?” Jughead asks.

“He said I was being too loud,” Jelly shrugs and Jughead rolls his eyes. He takes the spoon from Jelly and has a few bites of fruit loops before dropping the spoon back in the bowl and grabbing his shoes.

Jelly frowns. “I thought you were going to stay,” she pouts.

“I have stuff to do,” Jughead says, tying his shoes.

“Mommy is going to watch a movie with me today!” Jelly squeals, “You can watch it too!”

Jughead shakes his head. “Not today Jells,” he tells her and when she frowns again Jughead pulls her close for a hug. He kisses the top of her head before opening the window and crawling out.

“Love you Jellybean,” he says, and closes the window shut. Later, when he's eating at Pop's and trying to ignore the sad look Pop gives him as he devours his burger a little too quickly, Jughead will try not to think about how Jelly had the same type of look on her face when he left her.

 

* * *

 

The next time Jughead pulls the key from out of his pocket it’s raining and he’s soaked from walking in it. It’s earlier this time, a little after midnight, and Jughead is relieved to find that no guests are crashing on the couch this time. His shoes make noise as he walks across the living room to the hallway. He can see the light is on in the first bedroom but the door is closed. He walks by slowly, hoping to go unnoticed. The sound of moans and laughter tells him that he will.

Jellybean is asleep as usual when he makes it to their bedroom. He closes the door and starts to strip the wet clothes off his body. He shivers as he digs through his backpack and changes into dry clothes. His eyes fall on the movie poster folded in his backpack. It’s probably ruined by now.

Just like the drive in.

He crawls into bed and under the covers and stares at the poster. He made it four days on the streets before remembering why he had decided to take up home at the Twilight to begin with. It’s not that he was too scared; these streets don’t scare him. Whether he likes it or not these streets are technically his home. It’s just the side of Riverdale that he’s used to with his school, Pop’s, and his friends in their two story houses and green grass is too questioning and it’s hard to be invisible when you’re carrying your entire life around with you. The only place to keep out of the Riverdale bubble is the south side and if he’s going to be in the south side then he might as well have an actual bed to sleep in. He turns away from his bag and looks at Jelly before giving her his usual goodnight kiss and closing his eyes.

 

When Jughead awakes in the morning he can feel eyes staring at him again. He opens his own eyes and expects to see Jelly but her side of the bed is empty. He hears a noise at the door and sits up to find his father standing in the room.

“Did I come too early? Didn’t give you enough time to sneak out the window?” FP asks, smirking.

“It _is_ early,” Jughead agrees, and lies back down in the bed. “I’m going back to sleep,” he says. He can hear his father breathing and still standing in the room for a few more minutes before he leaves and closes the door. Jughead puts his hands over his eyes and sighs. He kicks the sheets off his body and rolls out of bed. The carpet in his room is soft against his bare feet but the tile in the hallway is cold against it. He can hear the TV and the voices of his dad and sister.

“Juggie!” Jelly yells, placing her chocolate milk down on the table in front of the couch and running over to him as he enters. She holds her arms out and he lifts her up and spins around as she giggles. Out of the corner of his eye Jughead can see their dad watching. He sets Jelly down and she runs back to the couch.

His dad raises his eyebrow. “Thought you were tired,” he says and Jughead shrugs his shoulders.

“I changed my mind. Turns out I’m hungry instead.” He walks to the kitchen and looks through the cabinets for a bowl. His dad gets off the couch and enters the kitchen too, standing against the counter and lighting a cigarette.

“Well you sure start early,” Jughead sneers. His dad shrugs. “It’s just a smoke,” he says.

Jughead laughs. “You sure?” he questions, “I heard beer goes really well with breakfast, too. Helps wash down the cereal.”

His dad raises his eyebrow again.

“You know I used to drink with Archie’s dad back in the day while the two of you ran around the neighborhood,” his dad remarks. “You don’t have to act like I’m the only parent who likes beer.”

Jughead slams the cabinet shut. “But it’s not just beer and cigarettes is it?” he asks. “Are you going to bring out the coke at lunch? The kind that's _not_ soda?" he growls in a low voice.

His dad opens his mouth to respond but turns towards the living room. Jughead looks too and sees that Jelly is standing up and looking at them while clutching her stuffed animal.

“What’s up kiddo?” his dad asks. He walks over to her and gives her a kiss on her head before going back to the couch and sitting down. He turns the TV volume up higher.

“Go watch TV,” Jughead tells her and gives her a warm smile. She stares at him for a few seconds before nodding and sitting next to their dad on the couch.

Jughead skips breakfast and goes back to the bedroom. He sits on the bed with his back to the wall and his knees up to his chest. The door suddenly opens again and Jughead expects to see his dad again.

His mom walks through the door instead.

Her hair is in knots and her eyes are tired but it’s good to see her. She sits on the edge of the bed.

“I was starting to think that Jellybean was dreaming of you all those times,” she laughs, and moves a strand of Jughead’s hair out of his eyes.

“Sorry mom,” he says, looking down.

“It’s okay, baby.”

They sit together in silence before his mom finally asks, “how long are you staying this time?”

Jughead shrugs. “I’ll probably leave in a few minutes.”

“This is your home, you know,” she tells him. “I know it’s not the one you grew up in but I’m here, your dad is here, and your sister is here. That means its home.” She takes his hand in her own.

Jughead doesn’t meet her eye. “Home is where the drugs are,” he mutters to himself and his mom let’s go of his hand. Jughead knows it’s not her fault. They fell on hard times and his dad getting caught up with the Serpents didn’t help, especially not when Archie’s dad found out that his supplies were going missing and that Jughead’s dad was to blame. He lost his job and he lost himself, getting in deeper with the Serpents until he was just as messed up as they were.

“Nobody’s pefect, baby,” his mom replies, and gives him a kiss on the cheek. “It was good to see you.”

She gets up off the bed and leaves Jughead alone in the room. He packs up his bag quickly and exits through the window.

 

* * *

 

Two days later Jughead is attempting to wash up in the gas station bathroom. He changes his clothes and runs water through his hair before putting his beanie back on. When he exits the bathroom he sees a familiar Southside Serpents jacket on a man standing in front of the slushie machine and groans when he realizes it’s his dad.

“Thirsty?” his dad asks, pointing to the machine.

Jughead shakes his head. "I had a milkshake at Pop's earlier," he says.

“Moving again?” his dad then asks, looking at the backpack Jughead is wearing again.

“I guess so,” he shrugs.

“Where to?” his dad questions and Jughead rolls his eyes and walks away. His dad follows behind him and once they are outside grabs his arm and pulls him to face towards him.

“What do you want?” Jughead snaps.

FP stares at him before saying, “go to Archie’s.”

Jughead looks away and his dad sighs. “Park benches get old after awhile,” his dad says, “and get noticeable real quick.”

Jughead looks up again and smirks. “Are you spying on me now?” he teases.

“Always have,” his dad mumbles.

“I’ll be okay,” Jughead reassures, but his dad shakes his head.

“It’s gonna rain again. You don’t want to stay at home because of me? I get it. I may be some loser gang member to you but you’ll always be my kid and I’m not letting my kid sleep out in the wet and the cold. Come home or go to Archie’s.”

“What makes you think I’ll even be allowed to stay there?” Jughead asks.

“It’s Archie,” his dad says, “He’s always been a good kid.” He walks up to Jughead and pats him on the shoulder. “See you around,” he says as he walks away.

Jughead leaves the gas station parking lot and walks. He walks and he walks until he’s standing on a familiar street. There are cars parked safely in driveways and couples jogging by on a night time run. Archie’s house is lit up and Jughead stares at it before sneaking back behind the house. The shed is used for Archie’s dad to store supplies and it’s never locked. Jughead hides his backpack and goes back to the front of the house. He stands in front of the doorbell and can imagine Archie and his dad eating dinner and laughing about sports and television. He closes his eyes and rings the doorbell.

He opens his eyes when Archie opens the door.

“Hey,” Jughead waves, and Archie says hello.

“I’m really bored. Jelly is hogging the TV and playing Disney movie after Disney movie,” he lies, “can I hang out here?”

Archie and Jughead are still in that weird stage of not knowing whether or not they're still really friends and Jughead is afraid he's going to say no. Instead Archie laughs and says yes, moving to the side so Jughead can enter the house. He says his hellos to Archie’s dad and the two boys go up to Archie’s room. They play video games and browse the internet and Jughead is just about to joke about how late it’s gotten and ask if he could just crash for the night when Archie asks a question about Jellybean.

“Is she still obsessed with those dalmatians?” he asks and jokes about the time Jelly came into Jughead’s room while he was asleep and drew circles all over his arms with black marker so Jughead could pretend he was a dalmatian and Jelly could be Cruella Deville.

“I wish,” Jughead groans. “She’s fallen into the Frozen spell. I’ll take the dogs over that Let It Go song any day.”

Archie laughs. “She’s lucky she’s cute,” he jokes.

Jughead nods and suddenly he misses his sister. It never bothered him when she asked him to play with her because he knows she adores him and wants to spend every chance she gets with her big brother.  Her big brother who lately seems to do anything he can to stay away.

“Hey Archie I should probably get going now,” he says, and when Archie leads him outside he runs to the back shed as soon as Archie closes the door.

He’s walking again until the couples jogging on their night time run turn into police cars patrolling down the streets. He takes the key out of his pocket and jams it in the door. He’s not surprised to see his dad sitting at the kitchen table with other Serpents. They’re playing poker and some of the guys look at Jughead and then look at his father.

“You need anything, kiddo?” his dad asks, breaking the silence.

“You said I could come here or go to Archie’s,” Jughead reminds him.

His dad nods.

“Well I choose here,” he says, quietly.

“Okay then,” his dad replies and then goes back to the card game. The guys at the table also focus back on the game as Jughead walks down the hallway to the bedroom. Jelly is in bed and Jughead quietly takes off his shoes and crawls in.

He stares up at the ceiling in the dark when he hears Jelly whisper, “Are you going to stay for fruit loops tomorrow?”

Jughead laughs and faces Jellybean. He kisses her nose. “You bet I am,” he says, and Jelly smiles, scooting closer to him as she snuggles up and closes her eyes.

Jughead stares up at the ceiling again. He hears his dad and his friends shouting and laughing, and then he hears his mom yelling at them to shut up and be quiet. Jelly snores next to him. For the first time in a long time he doesn’t want to leave the bed in the morning.

 _This is home,_ he decides, and closes his eyes and falls asleep too.

**Author's Note:**

> Title: The Get Up Kids - Like a Man Possessed


End file.
